View full sizeAmy Sancetta, Associated PressGrady Sizemore hasn't come close to matching his 2008 season as he continually battles injuries.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Baseball teams everywhere except in the largest markets make decisions that require a hard swallow. The Indians face two.

Picking up the club options on recalcitrant pitcher Fausto Carmona and sometimes-outfielder Grady Sizemore would cost the Dolans approximately $16 million next year, a season earmarked even before Opening Day 2011 as one where promise finally ties the knot with serious contention.

Since costing the Dolans $16 million is not the same as costing Warren Buffett $16 million, the Indians would like to feel positive, giddy even, about such an expenditure.

There's absolutely no way they can, though, at least not without a dose or 12 of Prozac.

That kind of money really ought to buy you a yacht, not a leaky vessel (Sizemore) that is untrustworthy whenever the high seas roil (Carmona).

There's a case for bringing back both of them. But when the best reason is that not bringing them back scares you as much or more, it's impossible to get excited about the prospect of continued uncertainty, let alone underachievement.

The case for Carmona: He threw 210 innings last season when he went 13-14 and made the All-Star team. One final quality start this season will give him close to 190 innings. Like it or not, by 2011 definition, that's an innings eater.

View full sizePDFausto Carmona is relatively inexpensive for a starter ... but he's also lost 15 games this season ... after losing 12 in 2009 and 14 in 2010.

Declining the $7 million option makes him eligible for arbitration. Given the market for pitchers, he would probably make that much or more in arbitration.

Carmona turns 28 in December. That's relatively young.

The Indians have options on him for 2013 ($9 million) and 2014 ($12 million). That makes him relatively cheap for next season. Replacing him with a similarly accomplished veteran would probably cost as much as you would have to pay him to stick around.

Carlos Carrasco's surgery, Josh Tomlin's injury and David Huff's late-season fade make walking away from Carmona feel like even more of a gamble.

The case against: Big innings don't unfold with Carmona on the mound. They're launched Fourth of July fireworks style. Big booms. Lots of sparks. And, in the end, a dud on the mound.

Two starts ago against Detroit was the perfect example of misfortune becoming a home run becoming a 6-0 lead.

He's 28. So that kind of shrinking on the mound is getting old.

Only once since 2007 -- a banner year when, not coincidentally, nothing was expected of him -- has his ERA been under 5.00. His ERA this season (5.23) is a full run-and-a-half higher than last year. Not coincidentally, he started this season in the role of Team Ace (though someone forgot to tell the White Sox on Opening Day.)

The most recent Indians pitcher to drop more games than Carmona's 15 losses this season was Greg Swindell in 1991. That's hardly a calling card for next season.

The case for Sizemore: He's still in his 20s (29). He hit .378 in April with 37 total bases. He teased again in July, batting a respectable .283.

Once they moved him out of the leadoff spot, his abysmal walk-to-strikeout ratio didn't improve. It just seemed like less of an issue since he did show he could drive the ball.

In 70 games, Sizemore has hit 10 home runs and 21 doubles. Compare that to Travis Hafner and Matt LaPorta -- OK, so that is not the same as comparing him to Ryan Howard or Paul Konerko -- Sizemore doesn't look so bad.

He was such a good player at his best that the Indians believe Sizemore at 80 percent is valuable.

The case against: Sizemore hasn't been the player Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen lauded as the AL's best in 2008, the year he hit 33 homers, drove in 90 and stole 38 bases.

Stolen bases in 2011: zero.

Defensively, he still makes diving catches in front of him but has been shaky on balls hit over his head.

Has hit .248, .211 and .223, respectively, in the past three seasons. After his hot April, he batted .143 in May and .196 in June.

Sizemore didn't just strike out far more than he walked this season, he wasn't exactly a tough out. On 1-2 counts, he hit .059. Asdrubal Cabrera, by comparison, hit .253.

This season showed the Indians could contend, at least until Detroit decided they couldn't.

The club options give them time where Carmona is concerned. Sizemore isn't tradeable.

Given all that, they almost have to keep them both one more season.

And pray they find reasons to feel good about it that don't immediately (or otherwise) come to mind.

Spinoffs

• Luke Fickell says he was saving his timeouts for the Buckeyes on offense late in the game against Miami? He should have used them on defense. The Buckeyes, after all, were most adept at stopping the clock with the incomplete pass.

View full sizeSan Diego Visitors & Convention BureauDoes this beach in San Diego look like it belongs to a city that is cursed?

• A Yahoo Sports story says despite the heartache experienced in towns like Buffalo and our own, San Diego (whose last title came in 1963) is the American city with the longest sports "curse." One of the requirements of feeling "cursed" would seem to be people caring more about their sports teams than the ocean temperature forecast.

• NFL pass rushers and other defenders deserve a break. The allowable target area to make a tackle without a fine has turned football into archery.

• Luke McCown, Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio's choice to replace David Garrard, had a passer rating of 1.8 on Sunday. If Blaine Gabbert fails in his scheduled start Sunday, look for Del Rio to sign Spergon Wynn.

He said it

In addition to drawing an audience, the Lingerie Football League's dress code is a "double-edged sword" that makes people think "it's a bunch of bimbos running around on a football field," according to league founder Mitchell Mortaza.

Is it the standard-issue garter that makes people think that?

Or the bra?

He Tweeted it

"Just talked to Jeff George, who lives in Indy and says he could pick up that Colts offense in a matter of days." -- L.A. Times reporter Sam Farmer, on the former QB who turns 44 in December.

So could Archie Manning.

You said it (The Midweek Edition)

Bud: What exactly does the term 'half a sack' mean in NFL defensive statistics? -- Tom Hoffner, Broadview Heights

Most years since 1999, it meant you were leading the Browns in getting to the QB.

Bud: With "Shaw's Spin" running on Page 2, and hitting about as often as it misses, have you been tapped by the Indians for advice as they pursue the dream of second place and a winning record? -- Bob Sammon, Seven Hills

Only early in the season when I kept telling them Austin Kearns was a keeper.

Are the 2011 Indians the first MLB team to have two players that don't own a glove? -- Joe S.

Yes. But Glenallen Hill -- like the late Michael Jackson -- owns the distinction of having worn a glove for no apparent reason.

Bud: Since Ohio State averaged less than 2 yards per pass attempt against Miami, can we expect Columbus and the Horseshoe to be hit with a dust cloud? And will Fickell be wearing handcuffs so he can't tackle opposing players? -- Tim Corbett, Ladera Ranch, Calif.

The hope for that cloud of dust is that it's Urban Meyer on a white horse.

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